The move was classic Martin Selmayr — deeply shrouded in secrecy, designed to bulldoze any and all opposition, and catching even some of the most senior EU officials by complete surprise. Only this time, the Machiavellian machinations of President Jean-Claude Juncker’s powerful chief of staff were decidedly personal: springing a vote on European commissioners to install him as secretary-general, the Commission’s top civil service job.

Selmayr has won fame and disdain and spurred envy and fury by deploying ruthless autocracy in the name of European democracy. His sudden election ensures the German lawyer and avowed European federalist will retain a perch at the apex of power in Brussels beyond the end of Juncker's mandate in 2019 — for as long as he desires, or until a new set of commissioners dares to try to remove him.

Selmayr's elevation was so sudden that even Juncker seemed not quite sure of the choreography. The Commission president, who rarely holds long press conferences, found himself back in the press room Wednesday to make the announcement just a week after he had been there to present proposals on EU governance.

Selmayr has shown time and again that he would fit in well with the cast of ruthless characters in the political drama "House of Cards."

"Is he not here?" the president asked, searching for him in the audience. "But anyway, I have known him for 25 years."

The Commission tried to use slicker spin later in the day, sending out a tweet comparing the switch from Italianer to Selmayr to the handover between captains of Star Trek's starship Enterprise. In doing so, however, the Commission bolstered a widespread belief in Brussels — that Selmayr is its real captain, not Juncker.

One senior EU official referred to another TV series when describing their first reaction to Selmayr's sudden promotion: “House of Cards life.”

In more than three years as Juncker's chief of staff, Selmayr has shown time and again that he would fit in well with the cast of ruthless characters in the political drama. He has steamrolled higher-ranking commissioners, blocked legislation, upended negotiations and picked fights with officials from national governments.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Selmayr | European Commission

In the upper-floor suites of the Berlaymont, the Commission's headquarters, Selmayr's election as secretary-general and the appointment of his deputy, Clara Martinez Alberola, to succeed him as Juncker's chief of staff, were regarded as affirmation of the status quo.

"Martin holds all the power in the future," one senior Commission official said. "And she is deputy in the future as well. Period."

However, the move gives Selmayr a bigger institutional title and means he is guaranteed to retain influence even after a new Commission takes office following the European Parliament election next year.

"He takes all the power — completely," said another senior Commission official, who works closely with Selmayr. "But he now has more legitimacy and rules-based authority for using this power."

"He will secure being the most powerful man in the town for the time being, over the elections over the change of the Commission," the second senior official said. "Even the president-elect cannot fire him. It needs to be the new Commission at some point if they want to make changes in the senior management."

Selmayr's consolidation of power sets the stage for more clashes with the European Council, the body representing the governments of the EU's member countries. A number of Council officials view Selmayr as poisonous and claim he created a fight in his own mind between the institutions over who would lead the Brexit negotiations, leading to the rushed appointment of Michel Barnier as chief negotiator.

Berlin connection

Selmayr is widely acknowledged as an excellent strategist, making it unsurprising that he was thinking about his next job a year and a half before his current one ends. A senior German official said Selmayr had tried to line up a job as a state secretary — a de facto deputy minister — in the German government but the move did not pan out. A Commission spokesman dismissed this assertion as "nonsense."

Selmayr has not always enjoyed good relations with Angela Merkel's chancellery, but German officials acknowledge he has helped Berlin on a variety of issues — including the refugee crisis — and they appreciate having him at the heart of the Brussels bureaucracy.

That link with Berlin, however, also carries risks for Selmayr.

Selmayr will be only the seventh person to hold the secretary-general's job since it was created in 1957.

Some EU diplomats griped angrily that Selmayr's election will concentrate too much power in the hands of Germany — already the predominant power in the EU. The secretary-general of the European Parliament, Klaus Welle, is also German, as is Helga Schmid, the secretary-general of the European External Action Service.

One senior EU diplomat, while recognizing Selmayr's commitment to the Commission, nonetheless complained, "There needs to be a balance of nationalities. Three Germans is too much."

Selmayr will be only the seventh person to hold the secretary-general's job since it was created in 1957. The first, Émile Noël, served for 30 years. Italianer, the incumbent who is retiring, has been in the job only since September 2015. His was widely viewed as having little power — largely because of Selmayr's domineering force and Juncker's effort to impose a more top-down, politically-driven management system.

Selmayr is now expected to restore the broad authority wielded by Catherine Day, an Irish civil servant who worked in the Commission for 26 years before being named secretary-general in 2005, and then held the top job for a decade.

Selmayr at the European Parliament in Strasbourg | Patrick Seeger/EPA

Unlike his predecessors as secretary-general, Selmayr does not have extensive experience in the upper ranks of any of the Commission's directorate generals. Day, for instance, led the environment department, while Italianer headed the department for economic and financial affairs, and competition.

But few would expect that to pose any problems for an operator so shrewd that some officials compared his move to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2008 job-switch, when he became prime minister to circumvent the constitutional term limits that prevented him from seeking reelection as president.

Related stories on these topics:

Petter B.

If the EU Commission’s Secretary-general has such broad political powers, why is it an appointed rather than elected position?

Posted on 2/22/18 | 7:16 AM CET

Pavel J

Selmayr has look of man since 80 years past in second war carry out experiments on twins.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 8:10 AM CET

Tom

@petter: in principle it doesn’t have political power, only administrative power

Posted on 2/22/18 | 8:33 AM CET

haha

what power? if the council 27 say no to something he will just walk away.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 9:28 AM CET

Ronald Grünebaum

The article omits that the Secretary General of the Commission is a lifetime civil servant and not a political appointee.
Selmayr may be able to do that job but the rules had to be bent so that he does not have to sit the EU entry exam.
The point of too many Germans is a half truth, given that Germans make up 8% of the EU staff despite their 18% share of the EU population. They have been massively under represented for years. Over represented are Belgians, Italians, Greeks and Poles.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 12:37 PM CET

ariel cohen

Günter, I understand that you will defend your countryman. Actually, as Israeli, I do not care about this person but he remembers me of the typical cynical arrogant German civil servant:) Germans have to be very quiet otherwise they create mayhem and repulsion. Average red tape bureaucrat who will beyond debate inflict damage. The same refers to his honcho- the intoxicated Juncker! Selmayr and Juncker- basket case Gütner- hoffnungsloser Fall? Andere Fragen?

Posted on 2/22/18 | 1:13 PM CET

knokke

One very clear winner here: EBRD staff 🙂

Posted on 2/22/18 | 1:40 PM CET

Advisor

He is certainly the right person for this kind of job and will be a very efficient civil servant. A ruthless person for a ruthless organisation. So everything is in full harmony.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 2:59 PM CET

Lamia

@ Petter B.

“If the EU Commission’s Secretary-general has such broad political powers, why is it an appointed rather than elected position?”

The answer is in your question. The EU does not like democracy, which is why it has a paier-mache ‘parliament’ and keeps the real power among appointees who then appoint their own appointees.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 4:10 PM CET

Tatar

How a German eurocrat became nasty, it’s a mystery really.

Posted on 2/22/18 | 6:08 PM CET

vox nemo

not “directorate generals”, but “directorates general”, like attorneys general or heads of unit. just sayin… 🙂

Posted on 2/22/18 | 8:10 PM CET

deirdre

@tatar…you serious? seeing your puke all over makes me wonder…

Posted on 2/22/18 | 9:27 PM CET

Only 30 MEP present

Quit a large procentage of leading figures are sociopats.

Posted on 2/23/18 | 7:43 AM CET

wow

More frightening is that the pro-eu on here are ok with a man the EU themselves have named ‘a monster’ (ie cruel etc usually associated with mass murderers or something) ..

…. and they’re fine with that. Not that the pro-eu citizen’s have a vote or any place in this decision as the EU do not care what they think anyway……

This unelected promotion does not bode well for the EU’s future. If you are not German that is.

Posted on 2/23/18 | 9:40 AM CET

wow

‘since his election..’

He is not elected he is appointed.

Election – Definition
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century.

Appointed – definition
Adjective. appointed (not comparable). (of a politician or a title) Subject to appointment, as opposed to an election by universal suffrage.

Posted on 2/23/18 | 12:29 PM CET

Gemma Knowles

“We don’t like him because he is German and federalist” is what this article amounts to. Which are rather poor reasons to accuse someone of being Rasputin unless you have any actual incidences of him doing things in an unethical way. If you want me to get angry about this, please give some actual evidence of misdemeanours. Rather than an anonymous comment from someone who may or may not exist, may or may not have said that and may or may not have an axe to grind that we don’t know about.

He seems to be competent by your own admission .. “Selmayr is now expected to restore the broad authority wielded by Catherine Day, an Irish civil servant who worked in the Commission for 26 years before being named secretary-general in 2005, and then held the top job for a decade.”

And I wonder whether you wrote such articles about Catherine Day?

I guess the British commenting here can look an and froth powerlessly from the sidelines, where they have put themselves.

And at least they can put one of those common complaints to rest; that the EU is full of faceless bureaucrats. You have just giiven this one a face. Even if you have semared it in make up of your own choosing.

Posted on 2/23/18 | 4:05 PM CET

John Corfield

What Boor Man Martin is a classic ruthless arrogant undemocratic nasty just like his namesake in 1945.

Posted on 2/23/18 | 7:38 PM CET

Tony Sharp

Yet more proof if any required that this organisation is actually the EU-SSR! Or perhaps less despotically the Bonaprtist or Wilhelmine Epires by other means – throughly corrupt, incompetent, anti-democratic and bureaucratic. These people, the Commissioners and Eurocrats, are responsible for all the practical policy disasters of the union – the so called ‘migrant’ crisis (fake refugees), the Euro currency with its inappropriate exchange rate for the south and east, the zombie status of the Italian Banks (with super zombie Deutsche Bank now infected by them), the Greek ‘bailout’ (its permanent bankruptcy andGDP catastrophe) and the demographic collapse of the Baltic and Balkans (‘free movement’ of the unemployed and skilled of thos nations to the West).Now we will get more of the same.